With warmer weather on the way, the Rocks Village Memorial Association has a few volunteer events coming up. If you have ever been interested in the history of Rocks Village or want to be part of a group that helps preserve buildings and engages with the community, please get in touch.
The amount of time to work on these projects is up to you. Each time we get together we try to dedicate 1-2 hours of work. For area clean ups or garden planting/maintaining we are happy to have your help for however long you would like.
Haverhill’s Cultural Treasures will be offering Tours at Twilight (5-7pm) on Thursday, August 28th under a single admission ticket. Several, not all, of the Cultural Treasures will be open.
Activities: Buttonwoods Museums – hearth cooking demonstration Duston-Dustin Garrison House – tour Whittier Birthplace – tour Rocks Village Hand Tub House and Museum – tours Haverhill Firefighting Museum – offering a quick tour and “Plan Your Escape, 2 Ways Out” in case of fire.
Tickets: Tickets this year will be $20/adult and free for kids 17 and under. The profits from ticket support the Cultural Treasures.
Tickets will be honored through the end of October for those who cannot make it to all sites in one evening. Please see each organization for their regular visitation hours and procedures outside the Tours at Twilight hours. Some sites require reservations outside special event times.
We are excited to announce two workshops for the holiday season. The first one is on November 2nd and we’ll make a Woodland themed Holiday table centerpiece.
The second is on November 23rd and it is our annual Wreath decorating workshop.
Go to our events page for more information and links on how to register.
Enjoy a picnic lunch overlooking the Merrimack River, then wander through the historic Hand Tub House and the Toll House Museum at your own pace. Try to imagine what life was like here two hundred years ago. The Hand Tub House has been a central figure of the Rocks Village district since it was constructed in 1829. It was an early firehouse, and originally housed a manually operated firefighting pump. This public building has been used throughout its existence as a firehouse, community center, meeting space, and as part of a museum.
Rocks Village and John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace
Lydia Harris and Susan Bailey of the Rocks Village Memorial Association discuss “A History of the Rocks Village Neighborhood in Haverhill” during the March edition of Whittier Birthplace’s Virtual Lecture Series.
Harris and Bailey talk about connecting Whittier to Rocks Village through the poem, “The Countess.” Topics include Dr. Weld; the countess herself; the De Poyens; Blacksmiths; witches; toll keepers, the ferry, the bridge, taverns, churches and the Merrimack River. Some myths will be also highlighted and claims disputed.
The lecture takes place Thursday, March 28, from 7-8 p.m., online. There is a suggested donation of $10 per household. There’s more at whittierbirthplace.org/events.
